Road-grader.



E. w. SMITH.

ROAD GRADER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-21.1917.

Patented June 5, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

E. w. SMITH.

ROAD GRADER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-21.1917.

1 ,228,979 Patented June 5, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ii M1 E. W. SMITH.

ROAD GRADER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-21.1917.

anvewlioz Patented June 5, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 TE. STT

ROAD-GRADER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1917.

Application filed February 21, 1917. Serial No. 150,146.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD W. S ITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Owensboro, in the county of Daviess and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road- Graders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to grading, ditching and terracing machines for use in making roads, preparing ditches, tel-racing, and for running drains and other work of similar character. One object of the invention is to provide novel means whereby the blade may be adjusted to any desired angle and readily reversed without requiring the entire machine to be lifted out of the ditch. Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for applying the draft whereby the draft is centralized and the strain of pulling the machine distributed so that the machine may be readily drawn along the'road or along the line of the intended ditch or terrace. A further object of the invention is to provide a blade which may be used as a drag and also to provide novel connectionsvbetween the blade and the frame whereby the blade may tilt upwardly toward. its rear end, thereby decreasing draft and enabling a blade-of relatively low dimensions to be successfully used and discharge the dirt at its rear end away from the line of draft. The invention also seeks to simplify the construction and arrange ment of parts so that the cost of manufacture will be reduced and the liability of the machine to get out of order minimized.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view ofan apparatus embodying my improvements, a normal working position of the blade being shown in full lines and a reverse position thereof to cut a ditch of the same relative width shown in dotted lines; other dotted lines showing the blade adjusted to a ditch of the extreme width permitted by the machine.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view looking at the rear side of the blade;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the landside and the blade showing the connection between the same but omitting the colter and the draft-applying devices;

Fig. 4. is a detail section of the support for the combined adjusting brace and bar;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the landside and the parts connected thereto;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the bracing frame which supports the platform and from which the blade is adjusted;

Fig. 7 is a detail section of the blade showing the manner of connecting the adjusting bar thereto; 4

Fig. 8 is a detail section of the colter and its supporting frame.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a land-side 1 which is preferably a metal plate of suitable length having its upper edge straight and provided at its lower edge with an'inwardly projecting flange 2 whereby it is reinforced. At the ends of the landside, I provide upper and lower hinge lugs or brackets 3 through which a pin may be passed to engage mating lugs on the blade and thereby hingedly connect the blade to the land-side. Spaced from the ends of the land-side, I secure thereto yokes 4 which project upwardly therefrom and are disposed at the inner side of the same, an axle 5 being secured in the lower end of each of said yokes and a colter or disk 6 being mounted upon said axle, said colter having laterally projecting hub members 7 which are provided with conical recesses in their ends to engage over the conical projections 8 on the side members of the yoke 4 whereby the colters will be held in their proper position and may rotate freely. Archedl plates or guards 9 are securedto the tops of the yokes and extend forwardly and rearwardly therefrom so as to cover the colters and prevent the driver coming into contact therewith and being thereby injured.

The blade 10 is a tempered steel plate preferably and has an angle iron 11 secured along its rear side whereby to reinforce the same. The blade is arcuate in vertical section, as clearly shown, and its lower edge is sharpened so that it will cut into the ground. The upper edge of the blade is dull so that if the blade be inverted, the said dull edge will act as a drag for the purpose of smoothing the surface of the ground. The reinforcing bar 11 is disposed nearer the dull edge of the blade and the blade is so arranged that the curvature of the lower portion will be somewhat more pronounced than that of the upper portion, thereby causing the sharpened edge to enter the ground more readily than the opposite edge.- A bail or guard frame 12 is secured the frame and said filler.

to the reinforcing bar 11 and rises therefrom and serves as a handle to aid the op erator in adjusting the bladeand also serves as a fender to prevent the operator slipping over in front of the blade and being thereby injured. i

To the inner face of the land-side, I secure a supporting frame 13 which is prefthe said frame and supported by the same,

as will be readily understood. At the outer end or apex of the V-shaped portion 14, I

secure a filler 17 which has its lower surface flush with the lower edges of the downturned flanges of the frame and a clevis 18 is secured to the said frame by a pin 19 inserted through the ends of the clevis and A brace and adjusting bar 20 is supported by the said clevis and is constructed with a series of openings 21 through which the pin 19 may be engaged. This bar is preferably constructed of two similar members in order to more effectually resist the strain to which it is subjected and its front end is engaged in a bail or clip 22 provided on the rear side of the blade. This clip has its ends reduced and inserted through the openings provided in the blade and then fitted against the front face of the blade so that it will be very securely fastened. By adjusting the said brace bar through the clevis, the blade may be swung about its pivotal connection with the end of the land-side and thus set at any desired angle and, after it has been adjusted, it will be effectually held in the set position by the brace bar. The blade may also be entirely reversed by disconnecting the hinge at its forward end and transferring the pin to its rear end, the brace bar 20 being correspondingly shifted. In this manner, the blade may be set to travel in either direction without the necessity of lifting it from the ditch in which it'may be working, thus enabling the operator, 'if he desires, to throw all the dirt on one side.

To the rear side of the blade, at the ends thereof, I secure by-bolts or rivets the hinge brackets 23 having rearwardly projecting lugs 24 in which are provided openings 25 which are slightly elongated in the direction of the length of the blade. Three lugs are provided on each bracket, one being 10 cated at the lower end of the bracket, one at the; upper end thereof and one below but near the upper end, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The hinge lugs 3 at the ends of the landside are adapted to cooperate with the brackets 23, the lower lug 3 resting upon the lowermost lug 24 while the upper lug 3 will fit between the upper two lugsv 24. A hinge pin 26 is inserted through the registering lugs and is provided or constructed with a ring or eye 27 at its upper end. The blade will thus be hingedly connected to the land-side so that it may be adjusted to any desired angle and the slotted form of the openings 25 will permit the blade to rock slightly upon the hinge pin so that its rear end may extend upwardly with reference to its front end and, consequently, will be in a position to be engaged by and turn aside the greater quantity of dirt which will accumulate at that point. The extent to which the forward point of the blade will penetrate may thus be regulated and the cutting action gradually reduced toward the rear end thereby lessening the draft and facilitating the cutting of a deep ditch with a narrow top opening. The arrangement of the lugs 24, moreover, will efiectually brace the connection so that it will not be easily broken and thereby permit the land-side and the blade'to become separated. The operator may cause the forward end of the blade to take into the ground to a greater or less depth by shifting his weight along the platform '16 and by resting his foot upon the upper edge of the blade or upon the reinforcing bar 11 and throwing his weight thereon at any desired point. 7

The yoke 4, near the front end of the landside, has a ring 28 fitted thereon and held in place by a clip or similar device 29. The draft or drag chain 30 has one end engaged in the ring 28 and its opposite end engaged in one of a series of openings 31in the reinforcing bar 11, the intermediate portion of the chain passing through the eye 27 at the upper end of the hinge pin 26 and being equipped with an attaching clevis or hook 32. It will be readily understood that the described arrangement of the drag chain will distribute the draft and transmit the same to the blade andthe landside so that the resistance of the machine to its forward travel will be more efi'ectually and easily overcome. The chain will, of course, be adjusted along the blade to correspond to the angular adjustment thereof and if the blade be set to some extreme position which will not be accommodated by the clevis 18 and the pin 19, the brace bar 20 therear colter travels directly in the path of the front colter. This arrangement aids in holding the machine to the line of draft and tends to prevent lateral movement or skidding thereof so that the work required to hold the blade will be materially decreased.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new is:

1. A road grader consisting of a landside, a blade hinged to the end of the landside, means for bracing the blade and form ing a foot rest from the land-side, a reinforcing bar extending longitudinally of and secured on the blade, and a guard rising from said reinforcing bar and approximately equal in length thereto.

2. A road grader comprising a land-side, a blade hinged thereto, a frame consisting of an angle bar secured to the land-side and having its ends converging laterally from the land-side and having a V-shaped central portion projecting from the land-side, a platform secured upon the converging ends and central portion of said frame, and a connection between said frame and the blade.

3. In a road grader, the combination of a land-side, hinge lugs at the ends of the landside, a blade, brackets secured to the rear side of the blade at the ends thereof and having a plurality of lugs projecting therefrom, said lugs being adapted to coact with the hinge lugs on the land-side and being provided with slots extending in the direction of the length of the blade, a hinge pin inserted through the lugs at one end of the land-side and'the lugs at the adjacent end of the blade, and means for bracing the blade from the land-side.

4. In a road grader, the combination of a land-side, a blade hinged to the end of the land-side, a brace between the blade and the land-side, an eye at the point of connection between the blade and the land-side, a drag chain having its ends attached respectively to the land-side and the blade and its intermediate portion passing through said eye, and a draft device attached to the intermediate portion of the chain in advance of said eye.

5. In a road grader, the combination of a land-side, a blade hinged thereto, yokes secured to the land-side at the ends of the same, colters mounted in said yokes, and arched guards secured to said yokes and extending forwardly and rearwardly therefrom.

6. In a road grader, the combination of a land-side, a blade hinged thereto, a drag chain having its ends connected with the blade and the land-side respectively, and means for holding the intermediate portion of the drag chain in the line of draft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

EDWARD w. SMITH. [1,. s.]

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

